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English words often have more than one meaning, which can even include contrary meanings, but when I researched the word “respect”, all definitions included the words “to value.” Since I was searching for a word, a concept that would cross all boundaries and reflect the belief every person is valuable simply for being a life, respect became a philosophy, has been adopted as principle, and now drives the global initiative because …

The more broken a person, the less likely he or she is to know or admit they are. This work reveals many consequences of one’s brokenness, the lack of knowledge about the impact brokenness manifests, and the often exaggerated egos developed to cope with the negative self-view shapes families, communities, workplaces, nations, and globally far more than humanity wants to acknowledge, yet once acknowledged has the power to change for the good.

Any one-sided perspective that does not allow other people to choose based on their free will … is not a symbol of freedom, but a symbol of one person or group’s need to have everyone be like them so they feel okay with their beliefs.

The most powerful leaders do not lead by fear, but by the strength of their character … their beliefs … their heart … and compassion for those they lead … yet also serve by leading.

The “Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE” concept was designed to surpass the barriers of religion, politics, race, etc. because as evidenced by the world, humanity struggles with the concept of valuing … respecting … others who are not in agreement with them, who do not reflect their choices, with believing they have to like or approve of everyone in the world.

Valuing … respecting a person or a group of people simply means to live and let live … to be humane .. to help others less fortunate than ourselves … to protect those who cannot protect themselves … to actively engage in the world we live … connecting the dots that reveals the big picture … what we do to others or do not do will impact our own lives somewhere down the line.

Based on The Bible, the living word Christians believe in, other than Christmas, and even more so, this is the most important two days of the year … when Christ was crucified on Good Friday and was resurrected on Easter Sunday.

If we could grow past our history … if we could at least unite and adopt the one concept, that all life is valuable … worthy of respect … we could obliterate the prejudices that not only separate us and compel some people to harm, imprison, and even kill those who don’t share their beliefs, we could create an economic balance previously unseen and would empower the human race to move past the limitations imposed by prejudices.

Making someone wrong through prejudice does not make someone else right … it makes two wrongs.

When we are willing to see beyond ourselves, we start to connect the dots and see the bigger picture of the world … and when we start to see our place in the world as someone valuable … entitled to respect for just being a life, we gain the ability to see others the same way … and we see our place in the world as valid and important as everyone else … because regardless of what you have, own, take … we all come into this world in the same way and we go out the same way … with nothing but what is in our hearts and minds. If we do not give other people the freedom and right to choose their own beliefs that do not harm others, then what we have is not freedom … instead we are bound by the prison of prejudice till we free others … and ourselves.

Though I was raised a Catholic, for several reasons I rejected the religion at an early ago and studied other religions and philosophies. In fact, so influenced by our culture’s strong reliance, almost religious fanaticism on science and my negative experiences with religion, the “Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE” was developed because of its logic, practicality, and even its dispassionate compassion.

Still, I found the concept, like many other religions and philosophies, did not satisfy a deeper yearning inside of me … the more profound that seeks deeper answers … so in the past few years I returned to Christianity by studying The Bible for myself and surprises abounded … especially surprises that generated freedom from judging and condemning others, peace, hope, and more positive feelings than I have ever experienced in my lifetime. I share this because I know from experience how both concepts, one scientific and philosophical and the other spiritual, not religious, are transforming me from being a hurt, frustrated, depressed, fearful, and angry woman into a healed, whole, more peaceful, and if not always loving, at least a respectful woman … who values other people and their differences and who works to find ways to bring more peace to the world, to encourage the ongoing development of potential, and to help us all connect to co-create a better world for each and every person … because both concepts have taught me everyone comes into this world with unique gifts, talents, and abilities intended to contribute to good of the whole … if we show them how by example and by our support.

This Easter weekend, my question is “What have your beliefs taught and yielded for you?”

April 4, 2015

KAITLIN A. TREPANIER

Freeing “Potential” with Education, Entertainment, and Inspiration with the global initiative and core book Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE … because every child … every person … should know, by their own experience, they are valued … RESPECTED.

Not a God Believer? I was not most of my life either. In fact, though I had been raised Catholic, my experiences pushed me so far away from any religion based on God.

At first I turned to the opposing dark side of what I had been taught … out of pain, anger, and frustration.

Eventually though, like many people today, I turned to the new world religion … science. The belief in what can be seen, analyzed, proven or at the very least was logical. I dove so deep into the sciences … the hard applied … and the soft … the theoretical and left spiritual concepts of any construct aside.

Till I didn’t, that is. Curiosity compelled me to reach beyond the sciences to philosophy and the many conjectural new age spirituality trains of thought … which held my interest for some time … but once again I returned to the sciences in the search for one concept that was logical and practical … that was not heavily-laden with specific religious, political, racial, or any prejudicial influence, but was just logical and practical … and therefore a viable idea to create a better world … for everybody.

That is how the more than science, Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE, was developed … as a simple core belief to live by whose positive results are revealed through the observation and analysis of the results … valuing … respecting … each other creates for us individually and collectively.

You don’t have to believe what I now believe about God … that he is indeed good and loves unconditionally … that is your choice; however, I do ask you to consider how you want to be treated in the world? Your loved ones too? Do you want to experience prejudice for your differences? Or do you want to have to hide your differences out of fear of how you or your loved ones will be treated? But what if you or your loved ones can’t hide your differences because they are visible … in your skin color … your income level … social status … physical dif-abilities?

Our world grows smaller every day with technology. In our world driven by the Disrespect Philosophy … no one is valuable unless someone or some group says so … the opposite of the Respect Philosophy … The RESPECT PRINCIPLE … that all life is valuable, we take chances every day that someone might not like what we say … do … or write on the web … so we can continue to live in fear, hide or just pretend all is okay, hoping terror will never impact us … but that kind of living is not fulfilling and creates a false sense of security … it is a prison that we allow to keep us captive.

The only way we can tear down the prison walls the Disrespect Philosophy throws up is to establish a new foundation … that does not build walls to separate and imprison us … but that is expansive and inclusive enough to support us all as we begin to develop more than the 10% of our brains to create a better world.

Want proof of what’s ruling our lives? Watch the news … and decide which philosophy you want in your and your loved ones lives … and then act … support as best you can the transformation from disrespect to respect … learn how by supporting publication of Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE for school and community study coming soon on the crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo, and/or the workshop production and filming of the school play and community event, CHARLES’CHOICE, based on and inspired by the book and global initiative, Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE now seeking backers on the crowdfunding platform, KICKSTARTER.

Like Charles, make your choice … now. We need you to make the change happen!

ORDER the powerful little book Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLEPURCHASE the performance rights for CHARLES’ CHOICE for your school and communityFUND the KICKSTARTER-approved project … the workshop and production of CHARLES’ CHOICE … between January 5th and 25th 2015

… BECAUSE every child … every person … should know, by their own experience, they are valued … RESPECTED.

Without one principle uniting us all, we are all at the whims and mercy of some person or group that is the dominant deciding force … and that uses their philosophy, whether it is religious, political, economic, racial, etc. to divide and conquer for his/her or their own benefit.

With a globally accepted principle, we will be able to surpass all “qualifiers” that serve the few versus the many.

By Connecting the Dots … with the globally accepted The RESPECT PRINCIPLE, we choose a “win win” for all … because the only “qualifier” is being a life.

The details on how to transform our world based on our newly accepted principle then becomes the challenge, but people are innovative and creative … and once driven by valuing … respecting … all life, people will be inspired and motivated to design and develop new ways of creating and living in our world.

… then all the energy previously spent on deciding “Who’s more worthy of respect” will instead be channelled into all things positive versus negative … and we will rewrite history rather than repeating it.

It does not matter how much money we make, without a high enough RESPECT LEVEL, we will still spend more than we make. Speaking from experience and the debt statistics, especially credit card debt and mortgage debt, many of us have at times acted like children given a free rein in a candy shop … ultimately making ourselves sick by not having a high enough RESPECT LEVEL empowering us to make good financial decisions … forcing us to feel sick to our stomach, either from all the junk we have eaten or because of the overdue bills that keep arriving in our mailbox.

Even after achieving Honours in Business Administration at age twenty-nine, I still did not get it. What I did get was a much better income and because conditioned ways of thinking about money and debt were still rooted in my mind, I also generated a lot more debt … because that is what we do, so the statistics stories say is true.

Even when I wanted to change my lifestyle and career to set my life on a better course doing what I wanted to do, the old way of thinking was still rooted deep in me and I made many more not-so-great choices that negatively affected my life and the lives of many others.

And even a few years ago, though my RESPECT LEVEL had risen some because of my dedicated efforts, I realized too late I was still facing the same foe … and though I had been free and clear of debt for years, back on the same horse I climbed and piled up debt once again that I have to get out of again.

But this time, to the rescue came an increasing RESPECT LEVEL for myself and others and a determination to break the bonds of such low thinking. One important tool aiding the mindset change is the wealth of knowledge Suze Orman provides in her 2010 book, The Money Class.

Near the end of her book, Suze’s comment that reading her book may have felt like an intense university course was right on the mark. Her book, The Money Class, is a valuable resource and guide that I studied by writing copious notes because I remember the most effectively and efficiently when I write things out. To my studies, I brought a very open and eager mind desiring to learn how to be different when it comes to my relationship with money, a willingness to acknowledge I did not know everything about money management, and in fact, the admission there was a lot I did not know, from teaching children how to manage money, to funding their college funds, when to start saving for retirement and how, plus what kind of insurance to buy for one’s lifetime.

Suze is a kind, compassionate, yet a firm teacher as her core philosophy shows: People first, money second, things third.

For years, because of my low RESPECT LEVEL, like many other people I put people first, usually ahead of myself, things second and money last but as I am building the highest RESPECT LEVEL I have ever had, my core belief about money is shifting to Suze’s philosophy on money in our lives … and one day, the financial wealth I always dreamed of but did not believe was possible will be mine, especially now that God is in the mix too. As I am discovering, The Bible has lots of financial guidance too and stories of unparalleled success when one lines up with His advice on money matters.

After my studies and transformed thoughts about money and its effective management, I firmly believe Suze’s book, The Money Class, broken down in sections, should be part of the education system from middle school to high school and onward into colleges and universities … that is, if we want a more responsible and viable economic community built on the strengths of solid financial knowledge and a high enough RESPECT LEVEL to make debt, particularly the debilitating kind, a thing of the past … I know I am and even just the idea of that freedom fills me with such peace and amazement … I so look forward to that day, yet I am also enjoying the journey of becoming debt free by starting with the changing of my mindset.

These two things alone will radically change our world for the better. I hope it does yours, for the ones you love and even for those you just respect … value … because they are people just trying to do the best they can too.

All Rights Reserved by DARK HORSES PRODUCTIONS/KAITLIN A. TREPANIER … Advocate, Creative Writer and The RESPECT SPECIALIST responsible for the creation of the global initiative Connecting the Dots … with The RESPECT PRINCIPLE … because every child … every person … should know, by their own experience, they are valued … RESPECTED.